A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

An Lushan and Shi Siming were the first to enter the city and go up to the city wall to look at Li Longji and the civil and military officials of the court.

They exchanged a glance, and both could see the surprise in each other's eyes.

Unexpectedly, the emperor and important officials of the court were all here. Although there were also a large number of imperial guards at the city gate, if all 20 of their elite troops were to enter, these tens of thousands of imperial guards would be nothing.

If they could directly capture Li Longji and the important officials of the court, and with their 200,000 troops, they could easily swallow up the many elite troops in Luoyang, and in one fell swoop have 500,000 elite troops. With the righteousness of the court in their hands, changing the world would be just around the corner!

The army has not yet fully entered Beijing, and we still need to feign compliance.

An Lushan and Shi Siming bowed to Li Longji with extreme respect, their faces even bearing fawning smiles, not at all like a high-ranking official on the frontier, a military governor who held both military and political power.

Their obedience greatly pleased Li Longji, and some ministers even wondered if they had wronged An Lushan and Shi Siming.

Li Longji patted An Lushan on the head and chuckled as he led the nearly half-deployed army, "Lushan, do you still remember what was written in the secret edict I gave you?"

An Lushan hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty's order is to purge the court of corrupt officials!"

Li Longji nodded in satisfaction. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Upon hearing this, An Lushan immediately stood up.

"By order of His Majesty—to purge the court of corrupt officials!"

"Those who kneel and lay down their arms will not be killed! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

"Slay any who resist!"

An Lushan and Shi Siming's army suddenly charged towards the Imperial Guards around them. No one expected An Lushan and Shi Siming to make a move at this moment, and they were caught off guard and many of them were killed.

Gao Shi immediately gathered his men and engaged in battle with the Pinglu and Fanyang armies brought by An Lushan and Shi Siming.

"Your Majesty, and all of you, why don't you come with me into the army for protection? On the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes; it would be bad if you were injured."

An Lushan spoke to the crowd with a fierce glint in his eyes.

Li Longji still didn't notice An Lushan's unusual behavior, and instead thought that what An Lushan said made sense.

So he walked toward An Lushan, but was grabbed by Li Bai.

"Will they receive protection while in the military?"

"Isn't joining your army the most dangerous thing?"

Li Bai sneered.

"What do you mean by that, Prime Minister Li? Do you perhaps doubt my loyalty?"

Now that the pretense was over, An Lushan stopped pretending and, with his personal guards, charged towards the numerous civil and military officials.

"As expected, Prime Minister Li is the treacherous and deceitful person His Majesty spoke of. Then don't blame me for being impolite."

Seeing An Lushan rushing towards him, Li Bai remained calm. How could he be completely unprepared?

Suddenly, Zong Shen appeared behind him and led a group of people to rush forward.

Li Bai pulled the person behind him and his gaze fell on An Lushan.

"He dares to act violently in front of Your Majesty without Your Majesty's order. Your Majesty, this shows just how unruly An Lushan is."

"If he were to truly gain control of all the military forces, then even His Majesty would likely become nothing more than a tool in his hands."

Li Bai continued to advise Li Longji, every word coming from the bottom of his heart, and every sentence was for Li Longji's benefit.

But all he got in return was a cold snort from Li Longji.

"Just like when I was in your hands?"

Although Li Longji felt a vague unease, he suppressed it because An Lushan was carrying out his orders.

He believed he could control An Lushan.

Unlike Li Bai, An Lushan did not have deep roots in the court, nor did he have a powerful family like the Wei family behind him. He was not born into a prominent family, so if he wanted to control the court, he needed the support of the emperor.

Without the emperor's support, An Lushan was nothing.

How could he dare to act like Li Bai?

Only after thinking about this did Li Longji feel relieved, believing that it was all just Li Bai's rhetoric.

Li Bai hoped that he would become wary and then cut off his own arm, but he would never fall for Li Bai's trick.

The more Li Bai tried to stop him, the more he wanted to do it.

If the enemy opposes it, it means I'm doing the right thing.

Thinking about this, Li Longji became even more convinced that it was the right thing to do to bring An Lushan and Shi Siming into the situation.

"Prime Minister Li, are you holding me hostage? Do I need your permission to go anywhere and see anyone?"

Li Longji questioned Li Bai.

Li Bai felt utterly disheartened upon hearing this.

Did Li Bai voluntarily choose to enter the imperial court? Wasn't it because he saw the corruption in the government and, for the sake of the empire and its people, he gave up his dream of traveling and enjoying nature, and stepped into this place of trouble?

Holding the position of prime minister in the imperial court was an immense honor in the eyes of others, but in Li Bai's own eyes, it was not as good as a poem on the Yellow Crane Tower or a cup of wine by the river.

He didn't care about the high position of prime minister; what he loved was drinking, composing poetry, and indulging in the beauty of nature. The joy he found there was endless.

"Whether Your Majesty believes it or not, everything I have done is for Your Majesty and for the Tang Dynasty, without the slightest selfishness."

"Your Majesty may be unkind, but I cannot be disloyal or unjust."

"Even if Your Majesty misunderstands me, I will absolutely not let Your Majesty pass."

Li Bai said calmly that from this moment on, there was no longer any relationship between him and Li Longji as ruler and subject. He was only concerned with the empire, not with Li Longji as emperor.

For a fleeting moment, he even considered throwing Li Longji right there and letting him experience what would happen if he were captured by An Lushan!

However, his sense of justice and responsibility prevented him from making this decision.

Perhaps after supporting the crown prince to ascend the throne, he can leave the country and the court, travel the world, and regain his freedom.

"Oh!"

Li Longji responded with a cold laugh.

Let's see how this battle goes; there's no point in saying more.

A foul, pungent smell assaulted Li Longji's nostrils, and the stench of blood made the emperor, who had not fought on the battlefield for a long time, feel extremely uncomfortable.

He was once an emperor who fought his way up from the battlefield, but now he can't even stand the smell of blood.

"vomit!"

The mighty Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was so frightened by the fighting on the battlefield that he vomited, just like the ministers next to him who could barely stand.

A hint of disdain flashed in An Lushan's eyes. Is this the emperor of the Tang Dynasty?

It's so awful.

As expected, his choice was right. Why should such a coward sit on the dragon throne and flaunt his power over us hard-fought generals?

Despite his exceptional martial arts skills and self-proclaimed wisdom, An Lushan still had to grovel before Yang Guozhong, that man who rose to power through women.

The world is so unfair, so naturally he has to take up arms to protect his rights.